Quietly Breaking A Sirius Black Love Story
by onlyashes
Summary: Sirius Black has lived to make Pepper Newheart's life miserable ever since the first day of Hogwarts. She always took the pranks and humiliation in silence but this year she's not taking it anymore. Will her life at school turn around when she fights back
1. Chapter 1

I absolutely love the marauders so i decided to write a story involving them. Since it's my first story about them, you'll have to let me know if its complete crap or not.If it does kinda suck don't stop reading the next one will be better I promise. Well here's chapter one. I hope you like it!

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"LILLY!", I screeched and jumped on my best freind's back.

"AHHHH!"She screamed as we both toppled to the ground next to the concrete barrier to platform 9 and 3/4.

The scarlet Hogwarts express billowed steam as we laughed at our annual reunion. Every year when we arrived at the platform I always snuck up and tackled her. It was a kind of secret best friend ritual type thingy.

"Must you always do that, Pepper?"She giggled when she saw it was me.

"Of course! It's like an unwritten rule or something."I replied with a laugh.

"Yeah sure it is."She said and stood up pulling me with her. "Come on, the train is going to leave without us and it will be all your fault!"

"All right keep your hair on woman."I grumbled and lugged my school trunk toward the train.

Trying to get our trunks onto the train was always hell. Lilly and I both grabbed onto the end of her trunk and sucessfully heaved it on board but mine was a different story. It was heavier than hers, because of all of my quidditch equipment that i never went to hogwarts without, and it just didn't want to get on the train. I was pulling the handle on one end from inside the train as Lily tried to push the other end in.

"Pepper, what do you have in here a dead body?"She puffed.

"No just the normal quiddich stuff..."I answered."Just push harder the train is going to be leaving soon."

I heaved on the trunk as hard as I could and without warning the handle snapped.Oh what a great day to be me. I flew backwards landing on my back on the floor and somehow managed to hit _myself_ in the face in the process. I heard chuckling above me and opened my eyes to see my best guy friend Remus Lupin standing over me with a huge grin on his face. He was the only one of the Marauders that didn't make it their goal to make my life a living hell. He actually stopped the others from picking on me when he was there. So we became friends.

"Having problems?"He laughed.

"Other than the usual not really."I replied with a groan.

I sat up and he looked at the trunk handle in my hand with an even bigger grin.

"Fighting with your trunk again?"He smirked.

"Only a little bit."

"Who's winning?From here it looks like the trunk?"

"Well me and Lily we're doing ok for a while but then...OH CRAP LILY!"I scrambled to my feet and looked out the door of the train.

She was laying on the ground with my trunk half on top of her. Remus and I jumped out and pulled it off her. She sat up and glared at me. I stared at her trying not to laugh, her hair was sticking up all over the place and her face was blushed pink.

"Sorry Lils. Forgot you were helping me for a second there."I giggled and boy if looks could kill i would have been a pile of smoking dust on the ground.

I bursted out laughing as she slowly got up grumbling to herself about finding a new best friend and began smoothing her hair back down. Of course being me my laughter and fun didn't last long. I knew I would have to see them sometime being that we were going back to Hogwarts and I _thought _I would get away with not seeing them for at least the first night back but I just wasn't that lucky.

"Hey Evans what happened to you? Get in a fight or something?"I heard the arrogant voice of the one and only Sirius Black yell.

I stopped laughing and we both looked up to see James Potter and Sirius Black strolling down the platform toward us like they owned the place. The two people I hated most at Hogwarts. I don't know how anybody could be that conceited and arrogant but they managed it. They lived to make my life completely miserable at Hogwarts. Any chance they had to humiliate me in front of the whole school or pull one of their stupid pranks on me they took it. That made them right up there with the Slytherins on my list and that's not somewhere you want to be. I was hoping in my mind that they would just turn around and go away but I knew that just wouldn't happen. Lily and I glared daggers at them while Remus smiled and waved.

"Hey Mooney!"Sirius shouted and put Remus into a headlock.

"Oh get off him you arse."I scowled and shoved him away from Remus.

God I could not stand him. He flipped his hair out of his eyes and stepped back so he could look me up and down.

"Well if it isn't little miss _Cayanne_. Since when did you try to tell me off?"He smirked.

He knew from experience that using my real name really pissed me off.

"Since I'm sick of dealing with your sht every year and I hate you and you annoy me and oh yeah I hate you."I ended with a sarcastic smile.

Lily giggled quietly behind her hand as he glared at me.

"So Remus can you give us a hand with my trunk before the train leaves."I asked.

"Sure."He replied.

"Oh I'll help too!"James rushe forward always eager to do something that might get him noticed by Lily.

They both easily lifted my trunk off the ground and set it up on one end on the train beside Lily's.

"Thanks Rem."I said and climbed onto the train behind him. "I guess we better go find a compartment Lils. See you later Remus."

Lily and I both hugged him and moved to grab our trunks.

"What we don't get hugs?"Sirius asked with a smirk.

I looked at him and James and clenched my fists. It was then that I realized that I never dropped the handle that I broke off my trunk. A thought came to me and I just smiled at Sirius.

"No, you don't get a hug you get something better."I grinned

"What is it?"He asked stupidly, still smirking.

I grinned wider and whipped the handle at him as hard as I could. It hit the center of his forehead with a loud thunk, bounced off and hit the floor. James bursted out laughing as he grabbed his head and howled in pain. I just turned around with a big smile on my face, grabbed my trunk and walked away with Lily by my side giggling.

"See you later!"Remus yelled after us.

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Please review!!I need some feedback so I know if I should continue or not.


	2. Queitly Breaking Ch2

I guess people liked the first chapter so i decided not to keep you waiting to read the next one so here it is.Enjoy!

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When Lily and I finally found an empty compartment and got settled, she looked at me and just started laughing. I gave her a quizzical look and rolled my eyes. Sometimes I just didn't get her at all. I didn't see what could possibly be so funny that she would be in hysterics?

"Lily, I love you very much so I'm hoping you won't take any offense to what I'm about to say but you need major mental help."I said.

"H-h-h-he...a-a-and when you...and t-t-then the t-t-thing..."She stuttered and laughed even harder.

"What are you saying?"I asked."Calm down and breathe already!"

Her hysterics slowly faded to giggles and she wiped tears of laughter from her face. She just stared at me still giggling.

"Are you done now?"I asked.

"The look on his face was priceless when you threw that handle at him. I still can't believe you did that."She said disbelievingly.

"Well I'm sick of his attitude and him strutting around like he owns everything and everyone and I just wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off his face just once and oh he just annoys the crap out of me."I ranted.

"What happened to saying 'just ignore it, hell go away eventually' everytime he pissed you off?"She asked.

"Ignoring him hasn't worked for the past five years so why should it work now?"I scowled.

"I thought it was really funny though."She started laughing again while I stared out the window and watched the countryside whizz by.

The Marauders

"I am going to get her so good for this. Do you see the mark that left!?DO YOU SEE IT!!"Sirius whined.

He had been sitting in the compartment, looking at his reflection in a mirror from one of his many fans for almost ten minutes. There was already a visible lump right in the middle of his forehead from the handle of Pepper's trunk hitting him.

"Calm down Padfoot. You're just mad that she finally got you."James said with a laugh."And boy did she get you good."

"Well you have to admit you've had it coming for what five years now?"Peter piped up.

"Oh shut it Wormtail."

"Jeeze. When you threaten his looks he gets kinda testy doesn't he, Mooney."James replied.

"Don't worry it'll go away in a few hours."Remus said.

"Or a few days, maybe a week at the most."said James,"I'm sure your fans will come back when you don't look like you're growing a second head anymore."

"You guys are the worst friends ever. I hope you know that."Sirius said.

He turned back to the mirror and scowled at his reflection and the now bruised lump on his head. The rest of the marauders howled with laughter around him.

Pepper

"Come on Pepper wake up!"Lily yelled in my ear.

I jolted awake and looked sleepily up at her. I honestly couldn't remember when I fell asleep but now the land scape was pitch black as it raced past the window. Lily was half way into her school robes so I guessed that we must have been almost there. I stood up and streched before reaching toward my trunk to pull out my robes. When I opened my trunk I heard Lily snort so I looked up to see what the problem was.

"What?"I asked.

"Do you just throw everything in at the last minute when you pack or does it take you a few days to create a mess like that?"She replied.

"Shut up! It takes talent to be this unorganized thank you very much."I retorted.

After a few minutes of digging I found my robes and shoved everything else back in. When I closed the lid I heard Lily snort again but this time I didn't bother saying anything about it. I knew it would just end up with her making another smart remark about how much of a mess my trunk was. I stood up and pulled my robes on just as the train started slowing down. Thank God we would be getting off the train soon. I really hated having to sit still for that long. I sat back down bouncing in my seat as Lily resumed reading her book. How she could just sit there and read was beyond me. She peeked over the top of her book and eyed me with a weird expression on her face.

"Not excited are you?Iknow two year olds that can sit still longer than you."She said.

"Hogwarts is like my home. I can't help being excited to go back."I grinned and she smiled back.

"This summer wasn't really that bad was it?"She asked tentatively.

I looked away trying to find an excuse not to answer when the train finally shuddered to a stop. I stood up quickly and opened the compartment door.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."She said quietly.

"Thanks Lily."I turned and smiled at her.

She always understood and knew when I didn't want to talk about something or bring up any bad memories. That's what I loved most about her. She never tried to pry into anything but let me tell her on my own time. I would eventually tell her what had happened but not just yet. It kept replaying in my mind but I wanted nothing more than to just forget it.

Flashback

My dad and I were currently having a screaming match about me being magic, started by me saying I would be leaving for Hogwarts in a few days. He hated anything to do with my witchcraft or anything to do with any type of magic and thats why he left my mother. When my parents met, my mother never told my dad that she was a witch. Even when they got married she never said anything or let on even a little bit. Then when she had me something went wrong and she would have died if her magic hadn't taken control and fixed her. My dad had of course suspected something and when they took me home a week later she cracked and told him everything. Then he filed for divorce and my mother, not having anywhere to live lost custody of me when dad kicked her out of the house. Thats all I was ever told, I never met her or even found out where she lived. When my dad found out what I was he hated me too. As long as I stayed quiet and out of his way things were fine but when we did start fighting, things went very bad.

"I DON'T SEE WHY YOU CAN'T JUST ACCEPT IT! MAGIC IS PART OF WHO I AM AND IT SHOULDN'T MATTER TO YOU IF I'M A WITCH OR NOT! I'M YOUR DAUGHTER SO YOU SHOULD JUST LOVE ME FOR WHO OR WHAT I AM!"I screamed.

"IT'S JUST NOT NATURAL CAYANNE! YOU SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO WHATEVER IT IS YOU DO! WHY DO YOU THINK YOU CAN'T TELL ANYBODY ABOUT IT OUTSIDE OF THAT _SCHOOL_ YOU GO TO! EVERY NORMAL PERSON IN SOCIETY WOULD SEE YOU AS THE FREAK THAT YOU REALLY ARE!"He yelled back.The vein in the middle of his forehead was popping out. I was seriously pissing him off.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT EVERYONE ELSE WOULD SAY!IT DOESN'T MATTER TO ME! WHAT DOES MATTER IS THAT NOTHING I EVER DO IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU! I HATE LIVING HERE AND GETTING PUT DOWN EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE!"I shouted back. I wasn't going to let him know that almost every day at school was just as bad.

"WELL IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT HERE THEN YOU CAN JUST LEAVE AND DON'T BOTHER COMING BACK THIS TIME!"He yelled even louder.

"WELL YOU CAN JUST KISS MY WHITE ASS!"I screamed and turned around to walk away.

I pushed it too far that time. Though saying something like that might not seem like much, saying it to my father was like calling him every bad name in the book and spitting in his face. He grabbed my arm with a death grip, whipped me around and punched me with a swift upper cut to my jaw. He released his hold on my arm and I stumbled against the wall.

"Pack all of your shit, get out, and if I ever see you anywhere around here I will not hesitate to kill you."He growled.

End Flashback

I rubbed my right arm absentmindedly where the bruise from his hand was still a deep purple. The one on my jaw was still sore but I had covered the large reddish purple blemish with a whole lot of cover up. I was just glad that Lily hadn't noticed it yet. I forced a smile as she pulled me along behind her to get off the train. The crowd jostled us as we slowly made our way down the corridor and out the door. On the platform in hogsmeade station, I took a deep breath and I could almost feel the magical charge in the air. A real smile spread across my face as a cool breeze ruffled my hair and gently swirled my cloak around me. Excitement coursed through my veins as we climbed into a carriage with a couple of Lily's other friends from our year and took off toward the school. After a few minutes I could see some of the many turrets and then the gleaming lights shining through the windows of the great hall. The magnificent castle, grounds, and the lake slowly unfurled before us in a breathtaking sight.

"Welcome home Pepper."Lily whispered in my ear.

I grinned as my heart swelled with happiness.


	3. Chapter 3

Moments later we pulled to a stop at the castle and walked up the stone steps and through the gigantic wooden front doors. All the while I had a huge smile on my face from the fact that I was finally home. All of the students filed slowly into the great hall causing an enormous din in the entrance hall from the many voices. I stayed silent while Lily chatted with her friends just gazing around and taking in the beauty of the castle. We sat down toward the far end of the Gryffindor table to wait for the sorting of the first years to begin.

"I take it from the huge smile on your face that you're happy to be back."Lily said with a grin.

"I haven't been this happy since the same time last year."I replied.

I smiled at her. Her eyes widened and her gaze turned away from my face.

"Lily what is wrong with you?"I asked comletely perplexed.

"Hey Pepper, do you uh mind if I sit here?"I heard someone ask from behind me.

I turned around and saw Dylan Callahan, one of the Gryffindor chasers, standing there staring at me. Dylan Callahan was one of the most gorgeous guys in our year. He had the whole tall dark and handsome thing going for him, with his dark brown hair that feell slightly into his deep hazel eyes, added to the fact that he was the best chaser on the team. I just stared back at him completely shocked that he was asking if he could sit by me. He had never talked to me outside of quiddich practice or matches during which he was usually just telling me not to hit the bludgers so close to him.

"So can I sit here?"He asked again.

"Huh?Oh oh yeah sure. Sit down."I blushed and tore myself from his gorgeous eyes.

Lily nudged me and winked and grinned at me like an idiot. I just couldn't believe that he wanted to sit by me and talk to me. After getting pretty much ignored by every cute guy in the school I guess you could say that I was suprised.

"Well talk to him he's looking at you."Lily mouthed.

"What am I supposed to say?"I mouthed back.

"I don't know just say something."She mouthed and turned away.

I glared at her back cursing her in my mind. I turned back to Dylan and smiled tentatively. He grinned and flipped his hair out of his amazing eyes.

"So how was your summer?"He started.

"Um it was ok I guess. I didn't really do much...just stayed with Lily for a while."I replied. I thought I better leave out the part where I got kicked out of my house."How was your summer?"

"I practiced quiddich a lot with my brothers. Until they went and got jobs at the ministry that is. Then I pretty much just flew around by myself every day."He said sounding dejected.

"Oh I'm sure flying every day was just torture."I teased.

He grinned and shoved my shoulder playfully. I flicked his forehead and giggled.

"I didn't get to fly much so I can't wait to get back on the quidditch pitch."I said.

"Even if it involves being around Black?"He teased me back.

"Yeah I think I can deal with him if I get to play quidditch."I said with a smirk.

"I saw him getting off the train and he was saying something about getting you back. It looked like he was growing a second head so I'm guessing that was your fault."He asked."Oh here he comes now. OY BLACK What happened to your face!"He yelled.

Sirius glared at him for a moment then turned his gaze to me. "You are so gunna get it Newheart."He growled.

"Ooooh I'm so scared. You should really try to fix that you know."Isaid motioning to his forehead."It's starting to freak me out."

He walked away followed by James, Remus, and Peter and sat toward the middle of the table. I could hear him grumbling as James and Remus howled with laughter. I looked at Dylan and we both bursted into laughter. Our laughter was cut short though as the doors opened and professor McGonagall led a line of frightened looking first years into the hall. I sighed and propped my chin on my hand. The sorting was honestly the most boring event that ever took place at Hogwarts, other than the end of year exams that is. Of course for the first couple years attending the school it was kind of exciting but when you got into 6th year it was really boring especially when you were starving from the train ride.

McGonagall placed the short wooden stool on the stone floor in the very front of the great hall and set the sorting hat on top of it. The brim ripped open as it began to sing it's yearly song and thats when I zoned out. After a while I picked up my fork and started scratching curse words and dirty pictures into the table.

"Do you really have to do that every year?"Lily whispered when she noticed what I was doing.

"Would you rather this or something more destructive?"I whispered back.

"Oh fine but when you get detention for the whole year defiling school property don't come whining to me."She scolded.

I stuck my tongue out at the back of her head and continued my drawing until Dylan grabbed my hand and stopped me. He took away my fork but didn't let go of my hand. I looked up at him feeling my face turning pink. I kicked Lily under the table to get her attention. I saw her looking on out of the corner of my eye.

"You know I think Lily is right. We don't need our best beater in detention for the whole year. That and I don't want to see you get into trouble."He whispered with a grin.

"Fine I'll stop drawing naughty things on the table now can I have my fork back?"I asked and smiled angelicly

"Maybe later."

"What don't you trust me?"I asked with a little bit of a puppy dog face.

"I trust you but after seeing what you do when you're bored I dont think I want to give you any sharp objects."He replied.

"Fine be that way."I pouted.

Dylan still hadn't let go of my hand when the sorting ended but after Dumbledore's speech when the food appeared I pulled my hand away and grabbed my fork back.

"Hey, who said you could have that back?"He asked.

"I did. I'm hungry and I refuse to eat my whole meal with a spoon."I replied with a smirk.

Throughout dinner Dylan and I chattered about quidditch and went more into detail about our summers. Lily eventually joined in our conversation wehn she heard us talking about the classes we wanted this year.

"I really wish that potions wasnt like manditory for becoming an auror."I complained.

"I try to help you but you never pay attention."Lily replied.

"I just can never remember what goes into half the potions for when we have an exam."Dylan added.

"Then it's automaticly your fault when you blow up your cauldron because you forgot to not stir clockwise after adding a certain ingred..."I stopped talking when a bunch of peas hit the side of my face and bounced off.

I looked down the table and saw James and Sirius laughing their asses off.

"Just ignore it Pepper."Lily warned.

I glared at them for a few seconds and turned back to finish what I was saying. As soon as I looked away from them another volley of peas landed in my hair. I shook them out and glared at Sirius again. He stared back and started laughing again. He pissed me off to no end.

"Hey ass crack, quit throwing shit at me before I do something that you won't like!"I yelled down the table at him.

He put on a serious face and stopped laughing. Once again I tried to finish my sentence when I was hit yet again with a bunch of peas. I felt my face flush with anger as Sirius started laughing again.

"That's it!"I said and got up.

"Pepper no!"Lily tried to stop me.

I walked down the aisle between the Gryffindor table and the Ravenclaw table and stopped directly behind Sirius and James. I turned to the Ravenclaw table and grabbed a pie from infront of a guy I recognized from their quidditch team.

"Can I borrow this?Thanks."I said.

"Uh Padfoot...You might want to turn around"Remus said and pointed at me.

He slowly turned around on the bench and faced me.

"So you think its fun to throw food huh?"I asked sweetly and smiled.

"It's pretty amusing yeah."He replied with that famous arrogant smirk.

Thats when I lost my temper and smashed the pie right into his face. He fell off the bench backwards from suprise and sat there on the floor wiping the filling off his face. The audience that I had gained laughed hystericly as he sat there on the floor.

"Oh I'm sorry!Why don't you let me help you wash that off."I said grabbing a pitcher of pumpkin juice.

Much to the pleasure of my audience, I dumped the juice over his head and dropped the pitcher. He glared up at me but I just grinned back.

"You better think twice the next time you decide to piss me off."I said

I turned on my heel and stalked out of the great hall listening to the laughs and cheers of my classmates. It was going to be a good year.


	4. Quietly Breaking 4

_Ok well since I got a whole bunch of hits on chapter 3 like 1 hour after I posted it decided to make chapter 4 longer so I'm sorry if it took me to long to get it out. I really like this story so far and I hope you guys do too._

_Something I thought I should mention is that I decided to change it to everyone being in their 7th year instead of 6th. Just so nobody gets confused._

_Remember to leave me more reviews!!_

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_After my amazing performance/ revenge in the great hall, I was skipping happily up to Gryffindor tower. Every time I thought about Sirius sitting there on the floor covered in pie and pumpkin juice a huge grin overtook my face and just wouldn't go away. I kept replaying it over and over again like a movie in my mind. Pie smashed into his face, he falls to the floor, gets saturated with juice, total public humiliation, and I would never forget that priceless, shocked expression on his face. I finally reached the portrait of the fat lady and stopped short. The portrait frame was empty and even if the fat lady was there, I didn't know the password. The feast would be going on for at least another hour so I was going to be stuck just sitting outside the comfy common room until the rest of the house came up.The thought of the warm, cozy, four poster bed waiting for me up in the dormitories made me yawn widely. So I sat down on the floor humming and smiling to myself, as the nights events played through my mind over again._

_The Marauders_

_"I told you to stop but you just wouldn't listen to me would you."Remus said yet again._

_The feast had just ended and Sirius had spent an hour sitting in the great hall covered in blueberry pie and soaked with pumpkin juice. Remus had been scolding him the whole time he sat there eating his dinner._

_"Personally I think that was better than anything else we could have come up with to amuse ourselves."James grinned._

_"Oh will both of you just shut your faces already."Sirius snapped._

_"You're just pissed that Pepper got you twice in less than 24 hours."James said and laughed._

_"How many times have I told you to just leave her alone. This wouldn't have happened at all if you had just stopped."Remus continued._

_"Moony I'm begging you..."Sirius whined._

_"I'm just saying that if you just left her alone you could have saved yourself a lot of humiliation."Remus finished._

_"I'm going to kill you guys..."Sirius growled._

_"Oh come on! We're not laughing at you we're laughing with you. And besides...I thought you liked pumpkin pie."James grinned and leapt out of the way as Sirius took a swing at him._

_"Ok...subject change...Did you see Pepper and Callahan?"James said incredulously."They looked pretty cozy to me"_

_"Well what do you expect Prongs, Pepper is a good looking girl."Remus said and Peter nodded in agreement._

_"Yeah shes good looking next to a troll."Sirius muttered_

_"You know you think she's __hot__ Padfoot. You're just pissed at her. You love her, you want to kiss her, you want to date her, love her and marry Oww."James stopped dancing around and singing when Sirius cuffed the back of his head._

_"The only way I would ever love her is if someone slipped me a love potion and a really powerful one at that."Sirius shot back._

_"I think James is right. You just cover up your true feelings for her by pretending to hate her and making her life here hell."Remus said with a triumphant grin._

_Sirius glared at all three of his friends and sped up his pace. He didn't like the turn that the conversation had taken. There was no way that he would ever feel like that about Pepper Newheart _**ever**_. He walked far ahead of his so called best friends grumbling incoherently all the way up to the tower._

_Pepper_

_I was right. After about an hour I opened my eyes and stood up as the sound of all of Gryffindor tower approaching echoed down the corridor. Seconds later the fat lady appeared back in her frame to let everyone into the commonroom. _

_"Hello dear. Why are you here so far ahead of everyone else."The fat lady asked me._

_"It's kind of a long story but I'll tell you the whole thing later if you let me in. I'm kind of trying to avoid someone."I pleaded._

_"Ok just this once. And don't tell anyone I let you in without a password."She warned and swung open a few feet._

_"Thank you so much."I grinned at her and quickly slipped into the commonroom. _

_The warmth of the fire engulfed my body in a wave of comfort, making me yawn again. I walked past the amazingly comfortable couch and the soft, cushiony armchairs spread out around the fire place. I made my way up the spiral staircase toward the girls dormitories and found my room quickly. Lily being head girl had already told me who we would be rooming with during a conversation on the train. I didn't know how she was able to find out the rooming arrangements but right now I was greatful that she did. I wanted nothing more than to collapse into my warm comfortable bed. I walked through the door and toward my trunk to dig out my p.j.'s. After throwing out nearly all of my clothes I finally found my black and white plaid flannel pants and a tight black tank top. I also grabbed a bra and panties so that I could take a shower befor going to bed. I walked into the bathroom closing the door behind me and locking it. I dropped my clothes on the floor, pulled out some towels, and turned on the hot water to let it warm up. I stripped my clothes off and stepped into the steaming hot water. After washing my hair, shaving my legs and all that stuff I just stood there under the hot spray and relaxed. Eventually the water started to turn a little bit cold so I quickly shut it off and stepped out into the spacious bathroom. I wrapped one of the soft plush towels tightly around my body and used the other one to scrub the water out of my hair. After drying off and clothing myself, I wiped the condensation off the mirror to examine my bruises. There was no way I would be able to hide them from Lily. The one on my jaw I could probably cover with my hair but on my arm that was a different story. The deep purple hand print still stood out against my lightly tanned skin. I was no good at concealment charms and to add to that I was a bad liar too so there was nothing I could say that she wouldn't see right through. My only hope was to stall in the bathroom long enough that she would be in bed by the time I went out. I took my time brushing my teeth and my hair and for good measure I even decided to floss. I pressed my ear to the door and I couldn't hear any movement on the other side. I decided that it was safe to go out so I gathered my clothes and slipped out the door, turning the light off on the way. _

_There was one small light left on next to the bed that Lily had claimed by putting her stuff all over it. The other two girls, judging from the light snores coming from the other two beds, were already fast asleep. Lily was no where to be seen. I counted myself lucky as I threw open the lid of my trunk and tossed my clothes in. Just as I was about to climb into the bed that had been calling my name for the past couple hours, Lily opened the dormitory door and walked in. I froze and stared at her, covering my arm with my hand._

_"Took you long enough. What did you do fall in the toilet or something."She giggled._

_I turned to face her, still clutching my arm._

_"Uh Haha...No I uh just uh yea I think I'm just going to go to bed now...I'm kind of tired."I faked a yawn and sidestepped around her still holding my arm._

_"Are you ok?"She asked with a concerned expression._

_"Yeah I'm fine."I said not looking her in the eye._

_"Really?Is there something wrong with your arm?"She asked with that all knowing look on her face._

_"No there's nothing wrong with it."I said quickly._

_"Oh yeah then let me see it."She demanded stepping toward me._

_"It's just an arm...really theres nothing wrong."I said taking a step back._

_"Then let me see it."She demanded again this time trying to pry my hand away._

_"I don't see why it's so important."I replied wrenching out of her grip._

_"Fine then.Be difficult."She sighed and turned away._

_I let out a small breath of releif but I should have known better. Lily whipped around and slapped my hand away. She gasped and stared at the dark bruise on my upper left arm._

_"Pepper...Who did that to you?"She breathed._

_"It's nothing to worry about Lily. Just go to bed and forget it."I whispered._

_"No I will not just forget it. It was your father wasnt it? Wasn't it?"She demanded._

_"Let it go Lily. It's nothing."I tried again to just make her drop it. I looked up causing my hair to fall back away from my face. Lily gasped again as her eyes took in the sight of my bruised jaw._

_"It is too something to worry about!And no I will not just let it go!We are going to talk about this right now!"She said loudly._

_"Shhh Lily you're going to wake them up. I said to just forget it."I whispered._

_"I don't bloody care who I wake up and for the last time I will not just forget about it!"She said even louder._

_"Just drop it Lily!"I said loudly._

_I stepped around her and out the door, heading down to the common room. I did not want to talk about it and she was just making me angry. I could hear her close the door behind her and follow me down the stairs._

_"Pepper!Pepper come back here right now!We are going to talk about this right now whether you like it or not!"She half yelled at me as we descended the stairs._

_"Lily for the last time just drop it!"I shouted as we burst into the almost empty common room._

_"Pepper?Lily?Whats wrong?"I heard the voice of Remus Lupin come from beside the couch._

_"The problem?You want to know what the problem is then just look at her face!"Lily shouted at him._

_"Finally someone agrees with me!"Sirius black said and peeked over the back of the couch._

_"Shut your face Padfoot. Whats going on Evans?"James asked Looking genuinely concerned._

_Lily completely ignored him and shoved me toward Remus. I took a few steps away from all of them, as tears started wellling up in my eyes. I blinked them back, not wanting all of the marauders knowing about my personal issues. Why give them more of a reason to pick on me?_

_"Well if you think it's no big deal then why don't you jjust show him already?"Lily demanded._

_"Calm down Lily. Just leave her alone."Remus tried to calm her down._

_"I will not bloody calm down!"She yelled."Come on Pepper show him the new scars from your summer!"_

_The tears built up again, stinging my eyes. I looked down trying to blink them away but it wasn't working this time._

_"Lily please just calm down for two minutes."Remus said."Pepper come here."_

_He walked over to stand in front of me when I refused to move. He put his hand under my chin making me look at him, and brushed back my hair. His eyes widened but he didn't get mad or start yelling like Lily, he just hugged me. That's what I loved about Remus. He never made a big deal out of something I wanted to keep quiet. I let a few tears fall and buried my face in his shirt._

_"Group hug!"I heard James yell and seconds later he slammed into my back, wrapping Remus and I in a huge bear hug.I did not expect that from him at all."Come on Padfoot you've gotta get in on this!"_

_"No thanks."I heard him say._

_"Fine suit yourself. You don't know what you're missing out on!"He replied and crushed Remus and I even tighter._

_I would have laughed if I had been able to breathe. _

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

_Well there you have it folks!Chapter 4. I decided to make it kind of a funny type ending because I really don't like ending on dramatics this early in the story. I had to do it sometime in the first few chapters though. It's very important to what will eventually happen._

_Don't forget to review!! _


	5. Chapter 5

_**Well I guess people like this story, I had my doubts but I'm going to continue. So heres chapter 5. Enjoy and review please!**_

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_**"James.....I can't....breathe"I gasped.**_

_**He was still crushing Remus and I in a giant bear hug. **_

_**"Oh yeah. Sorry Pepper."He released us and stepped back grinning.**_

_**"Thank you so much for trying to crush the life out of me."I said sarcasticly.**_

_**"Made you feel better though didn't I?"He replied with a wink."So whats the issue anyway?"He questioned.**_

_**"Why do you care?"I narrowed my eyes at him.**_

_**"What do you mean why do I care?"He asked seemingly suprised.**_

_**"Well you always seem to be making my life hell everytime I'm around you so I didn't think you really cared if I was miserable or not."I shot back.**_

_**"Oh...well...I uh...I'm sorry about all that. I never really meant to be that..."he trailed off.**_

_**"You never really meant to be that what? That much of an arrogant, pig headed, self centered arse?"Sarcasim dripped off my every word.**_

_**"Uh yeah. That works. Anywho I'm sorry so no hard feelings?"He reached out to hug me again but I stepped back.**_

_**"If you want to keep both of your arms I suggest that you don't even try to hug me."I glared at him and he shrank back dropping his arms back to his sides.**_

_**I heard Sirius snort with laughter from the couch. I stomped over to the couch and glared daggers at him as he just grinned back at me. Once again I got that urge to hurt him in any way possible. **_

_**"Something funny Black?"I asked quietly.**_

_**"Oh just the thought of you trying to hurt Prongs. It would take him like maybe one finger to hold you off."He laughed.**_

_**I growled at him and made to leap over the arm of the couch and punch him but Remus held me back.**_

_**"Pepper just calm down."He said softly."You two leave please."He said to Sirius and James.**_

_**"Aww come on Mooney! I didn't even do anything!"James whined.**_

_**"Come on Prongs lets just go to bed. Its getting late anyway."Sirius said with a yawn.**_

_**James turned and smiled tentatively at me before shuffling off toward the dormitory stairs. Remus released me and I threw myself laying face down on the couch. Lily sat at my feet with Remus on the floor in front of me.**_

_**"Pepper... I'm sorry I yelled at you. I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just worried about you. We both are."Lily said quietly.**_

_**"Just please tell us what happened. Maybe we can help you."Remus added.**_

_**I slowly sat up and looked at each of them in turn. They both had concerned expressions on their faces and I could see tears glistening in Lily's eyes. I took a deep breath, staring into the fire to collect my thoughts. If I told them they might just get mad at me for starting a fight when I knew what would happen. I didn't know if I wanted to put my problems on them more than I already did. On the other hand I knew that Lily wouldn't let it go and neither would Remus. I should just tell them and get it over with. I glared at the loose string that I was playing with on my shorts and told them the quick and easy version of the story.**_

_**"Well, long story short... I brought up the fact that I was going to be going back to school soon and my dad got pissed just like he always does when I bring up Hogwarts. We got into a huge fight over me not being **_**normal**_** or whatever and I swore at him, he got really pissed and grabbed me and hit me...then he said that if I ever came back to the house again he would kill me."I ended staring into the fire once again.**_

_**"I'm so sorry Pepper....."Lily whispered.**_

_**"Yeah well it's not so bad. At least I don't have to deal with all the fighting with him anymore. As of August 5th I'm totally free."I replied with a bitter smile.**_

_**"August 5th? Where did you stay for all that time between then and school?"Remus asked. Concern was clear in his eyes.**_

_**"I stayed at the leeaky cauldron until school. You were both on vacation and i didn't want to bother you."I mumbled and looked down.**_

_**"You could have sent me an owl. I would have flooed home and got you. You could have come on vacation with me you know my parents love you."Lily said.**_

_**"I just didn't want to put all of my problems on you."I said and looked down.**_

_**Next thing I knew Lily was tackling me with a huge hug. For the second time that night i was having the life squeezed out of me.**_

_**"Lily... can't breathe....."I gasped out. She released me and stared at me.**_

_**"You can always tell me anything... don't worry about putting all your problems on me or whatever it is you think you're doing. It helps to talk about stuff."She said.**_

_**"You should have just told us and it could have saved all this drama."Remus smiled."Now why don't we all go to bed. Its getting late."**_

_**"Always the authority figure.... no wonder you're a prefect Remus."I grinned at him and walked over to the dormitory stairs with Lily.**_

_**"Goodnight Lily, Pepper."He grinned back and went up the boys stairs.**_

_**Once we were in the dormitory I yawned hugely and laid down on my bed snuggling up under the blankets. Lily did the same and shut off the light on her bedside stand.**_

_**"Goodnight Pepper."She whispered.**_

_**"Night."I mumbled back already drifting off to sleep.**_

_**In the boys dormitory......**_

_**James and Sirius were still awake joking and beating on eachother with pillows waiting for Remus to come in. Remus walked in and sat back on his bed.**_

_**"So Mooney what was all that about?"James asked.**_

_**"I'm not allowed to tell you. I'm sworn to secrecy." Remus replied.**_

_**"Oh come on just tell us Mooney.... It can't possibly be anything that bad."James pressed on staring hopefully at him.**_

_**"No I'm not telling you."He said.**_

_**"Why not?"James whined.**_

_**"Because Pepper doesn't really like you all that much and I don't think she wants me telling you what goes on in her life."Remus said.**_

_**"Because its totally embarrassing and I could use it as blackmail or make her the laughing stock of the whole school if I told someone?"Sirius looked up hopefully.**_

_**"No because its not my business to tell you."Remus replied.**_

_**"Why does she hate **_**me**_**?"James asked**_

_**"Well you're the one that helps Padfoot make her life hell at Hogwarts all year long."He said simply."And you might want to lay off a little bit this all I'm going to say about it."**_

_**"So all I have to do to get her to be friends is be nice?"James asked.**_

_**"Yeah I guess."Remus mumbled as he covered up and laid down to go to sleep.**_

_**"Ok I guess I can be nice to her."James replied and laid down.**_

_**"So now I have nobody to help me prank her?"Sirius asked.**_

_**"No because I don't really fancy having people hate me."James said.**_

_**"Real nice Prongs... Just leave your partener in crime hanging by himself."Sirius pouted. **_

_**"Just go to sleep Padfoot. I'm sure you'll figure out something."James said into his pillow.**_

_**"You are absolutely no fun Prongs."Sirius said and shut out the light. "Take it easy on her....yeah right."**_

_**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**_

_**Don't forget to review! =D**_


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning I woke up earlier than usual. I sat up, stretching my arms over my head and yawning. My room mates were all still fast asleep, even Lily. After disentangeling my legs from the bed sheets, I got up and headed to the bathroom for my first thing in the morning piss. Once that was taken care of I looked in the mirror to decide what I was going to do with my hair for the day. My hair was kind of short so naturally it was sticking up in every direction and at the moment resembled a haystack. I grabbed a brush of the counter and slowly pulled it through my knotted hair. Once it was brushed it looked ok so i decided to just leave it down. I went over to my trunk at the end of my bed to dig through for clothes to wear. Since there were no classes today we could wear pretty much whatever we wanted. I pulled out a pair of jeans and a red long sleeved shirt. After I had chanded and thrown my stuff back in my trunk, I put on my shoes and headed down the stairs to the coomon room. I was planning on taking an early morning walk around the lake before breakfast.

When I walked out of the castle doors, I stopped for a moment to take in the beauty of the grounds. As the red tinged sun was slowly rising over the horizon its light painted the sky all different shades of pink and orange. Off in the distance I could see the light shimmering in the water of the lake. I walked at a leisurely pace down toward the lake and stopped to lean against the huge tree near the waters edge. I stared out across the water, watching the colors of the sky's reflection moving in the soft ripples. I was totally lost in thought reliving my entire summer all the way up till to fight Lily and I had the previous night.

"Hey. What are you doing up so early?"Someone said from behind me.

I jumped at the sound, turning quickly around to see who was there. Dylan Callahan was standing a few feet behind me with a slight smile on his face.

"Oh its just you. You scared me."I said.

"Sorry...I didn't mean you never answered my question."

"Uhm what question?"

"What are you doing out here so early?"

"Oh i just woke up and decided I wanted to go for a walk before breakfast."

"Huh.I had you pegged for more of a sleeping in kind of person."

"Yea I usually am but I just couldn't go back to sleep."I laughed."Normally you wouldn't see me out here until lunch."

"Well then I guess I'm glad you couldn't go back to sleep."He smiled and i felt a hint of warmness creep into my cheeks.

"So do you want to walk around the lake with me?"He asked.

"Sure why not."

We walked slowly around the water's edge, talking the whole time. I could honestly say that Dylan was one of the sweetest, funniest guys I had ever met. As we walked up to the castle he was really laying on the charm. The way he was looking at me I felt like I was going to just melt into a puddle on the floor. Once we were back in the castle I could hear the buzz of chatter as people went in and out of the great hall to get breakfast. As we approached the Gryffindor table, I saw Lily sitting toward the middle with a full plate of food and an open book propped up against a pitcher of milk.

"Hey Lily."I said as Dylan and I approached.

"Uh hey I was wondering were you were."She answered, her eyes going back and forth between me and Dylan.

"Hey Dylan!"I heard somebody call. I looked over to the Ravenclaw table and saw a couple guys waving him over.

"Get over here man!"They called again.

"I better go talk to them before Eli's head explodes. Um I guess I'll talk to you sometime later."He said and backed away.

"Ok see you later."I said and smiled.I sat down next to Lily and loaded food onto a plate, still smiling.

Dylan

"What the hell are you doing messing around with Newhart?"Eli asked before I even sat down. Chad was sitting next to him looking irritated from Eli's over excitement.

"Will you just calm down man. I have a plan!"

"Why don't you just stick to what I told you to do in the first place?"

"Because this is better. I can get back at Newhart and make Victoria fall _hopelessly_ in love with me all at the same time."

"And how do you plan to do that?"Chad asked.

"I know for a fact that Victoria hates Newhart and obviously shes going to get jealous of me hanging out with her. Plus, I'm hot."

"What if Newhart figures it out though?"

"Trust me. She will never in a million years know whats going on."I looked over at Pepper and laughed. This was going to be fun.

Pepper

"Morning Lily."I heard Remus say. He sat down at the table across from Lily and me.

"Morning Remus."Lily replied.

"Whats with Miss Smiles Alot?"He asked.

"Dylan Callahan. She walked in with him a few minutes ago with that goofy smile on her face and those big googoo eyes."She explained.

"Oh I see. Pepper? Hey Pepper?"

"Earth to Pepper!"I snapped out of my trance when Lily flicked my forehead.

"What?"

"You have some explaining to do."

"Well I..."I started.

"Quidditch practice!"James practicly screamed as he sat down next to Remus.

"What?Why?"I asked looking bewildered.

"We are going to dominate this year. We all graduate this year so that means it's our last chance to win the house cup. Now I know we've won it for the past five years straight since we joined the team but wouldn't it be the best thing ever to make it six years in a row? We could have bragging rights for the rest of our natural lives to say hey I was on the best quidditch team that Hogwarts ever saw and we won the house cup every single year. Wouldnt that be amazing? Wouldn't it be the best thing ever? Well wouldn't it?!"When he finally finished his little speech, we all just looked at him like he was crazy. If you didn't know better you would think he was. He had that psychotic gleam in his eyes and his hair was sticking up all over the place. He honestly reminded me of an escaped mental patient from a psych ward.

"I want to see you down on the quidditch pitch by 9:30 Pepper. And if you see anybody else on the team bring them with you."He finished and walked out the great hall doors.

"He's mad!"Lily said.

"No thats just James."Remus said.

"Yeah and he's psycho. He said 9:30. Thats like 20 minutes from now. I better go change and get down there. I'll talk to you guys later."I grabbed a few pieces of buttered toast to take with me. Once I was back in the dorm I dug through my trunk until I found shorts and a tank top. It was warm outside when I was walking around the lake and I could only imagine how hot it was going to be by the time James let us stop. I changed my clothes and put my hair up into a ponytail taking it out twice because it didn't look right. Why did I care? I was just going to quidditch practice. Yeah but Dylan was going to be there. I couldn't help smiling to myself thinking about the way he was looking at me and how sweet and funny and charming he was. I looked at my watch and saw that it was already 9:30. Shit...I was going to be late. James was going to freak. God this practice was going to suck.


	7. Chapter 7

**"Well, look who finally decided to show up!"Sirius said as I walked onto the quidditch pitch. **

**"Shut your trap Black."I glared at him. **

**"Prongs isn't too happy with you." **

**"I'm only 10 minutes late so i don't think hes all that pissed. So why don't you do the world a fovor and shut your mouth for once!"I shouted. He just looked at me with that stupid smirk on his face and took off up into the air on his broom. I rolled my eyes and started to do the same when James walked over to me. He grabbed the handle of my broom just as I was about to kick off. **

**"You are ten minutes late Newhart."He began. **

**"Yes and by the looks of it I haven't missed anything so if you wouldn't mind, let go of my broom."James glared at me in response.  
"Get off the broom. Ten laps around the pitch, one for each minute you were late."He commanded and grabbed the broom out of my hands. I stared open mouthed at him in disbelief. **

**"Are you shitting me?" **

**"I am being serious now go before I make it twenty!"Without another word I took off running around the quidditch pitch while everybody else flew around overhead. **

**"Hey just letting you know I can see straight down your shirt!"Jason Peterson yelled as he hovered right over my head. I flipped him off as he flew away laughing. Sometimes it really sucked being the only girl on the team. I saw Dylan fly up behind him and smack the back of his head. I giggled at him and he winked as he flew away. Oh my gosh that boy was so fine! Fifteen minutes later I was gasping for air as I finished the last few steps of my tenth lap. James was calling the rest of the guys down. They laughed and joked with each other as they landed while I stood gulping down water and trying to catch my breath. **

**"Ok so I know it's the first day back and everything but this year we are going to dominate. We are going to start practicing earlier and we are going to practice harder than the other teams. This is the last year I am going to be at Hogwarts and I for one would like to win the Quidditch cup for one last time."James finished his little speech and the two others who were in seventh year enthusiasticly applauded him. "All right everybody up in the air, Padfoot you can let out the bludgers and the snitch, Callahan grab the quaffle. We are going to practice like none of you have practiced before." **

**We were two hours into practice and James still had us up in the air. He was making me and Black practice together at the other end of the pitch so we didn't accidently hit one of the chasers. Sweat dripped from my forehead and into my eyes as I swung the beater bat and hit the bludger back at Sirius. It rocketed toward his head and just narrowly missed as he ducked. He hit it back toward me with just as much force. I felt the wind from it as it whistled past my ear. He had been purposely trying to hit me in the face all day. **

**"Will you stop trying to hit my face!"I screamed. **

**"Why? It couldn't possibly look any worse!"He said back with that stupid smirk. **

**I dived toward the ground after the bludger and smacked it up toward him with as much force as I could possibly muster. It skimmed over the top of his head and he glared at me. **

**"Will you two stop trying to kill eachother just this once!"James shouted at me as he chased after the golden snitch. **

**"Don't yell at me hes the one that..."I trailed off as the bludger finally made contact. It hit my ribs with an audible crack and knocked me sideways off my broom. Lucky for me I was only about ten feet from the ground but when I landed it was enough to knock the breath out of me. I just laid there coughing and trying to remember how to breathe. Each breath caused a ripple of pain to course through my side. I faintly heard the guys shouting my name through the rushing noise in my ears. I shook my head and sat half way up clutching my ribs. Dylan and James were the first to reach me. **

**"Oh my god are you ok? Pepper answer me!"James yelled. **

**"Nice job Black!"Dylan yelled and shot a glare at Sirius. "Are you **_**trying**_** to kill her?" **

_**"**_**Guys calm down. I'm fine." I gasped. **

**"Well you don't look fine. You're pale as a ghost."James said. **

**"Somebody help me up." I said. Dylan stood and grabbed my hand pulling me slowly to my feet. I swayed a little bit but remained standing. **

**"You ok?"He asked. **

**"Yeah."I winced and gripped my side. **

**"Ok guys I think thats enough for today so somebody catch the bludgers and everybody can go get cleaned up. Heres the snitch."James said and handed the snitch to Dylan."I'll be right back. I'm going to take Pepper to the hospital wing." **

**He grabbed my arm and pulled me along slowly back to the castle. **

**"You know I really don't think its necessary to go to the hospital wing. Its just a couple broken ribs I'm sure I'll be fine."I said and pulled away from him. **

**"Well too bad. You're going whether you like it or not." **

**"But I don't think Madam Pomfrey really likes me all that much so why bug her on the first day back." **

**"I don't care if she doesn't like you." **

**"Can I ask you something?" **

**"Um sure."He looked at me puzzled. **

**"Why are you all of a sudden not being a jerk to me?" **

**"Yeah about that...look I feel really bad about pulling all those stupid pranks on you all the time and for being such an ass all these years and I'm sorry about all of that... I never meant to be such a jerk and to me all those pranks were just jokes. As for Sirius...well thats a different story. I don't know what his problem is but I'm sorry about all the crap I did. You wanna call a truce?" **

**"Umm ok I guess... but just between us. Black is so going to get it for this." **

**"Thanks Pepper."James grinned and pulled me into a hug. Pain ripped through my side taking my breath away. **

**"OW OW OW OW OW let go!"I gasped. **

**"Oh sorry!"He immediately released me. **

**"It's fine."I managed to say. I was doubled over gripping my side. **

**"All right lets go." James said and picked me right up off the ground. **

**"What are you doing?"I shreiked and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. **

**"No offense but you walk really slow when you're injured."He laughed and took off for the hospital wing. **

**"Oh my...What happened?"Madam Pomfrey came bustling out of her office as soon as James walked in."Set her down here."She gestured to a bed. **

**"We were at quidditch practice and she got hit by a bludger. I think she might have a couple broken ribs."James explained. Madam Pomfrey moved to pull up my shirt and examine my ribs. **

**"Don't touch it it hurts"I snapped. **

**"Um I think I'm gunna go back down to the pitch and get my broom and stuff so I guess I'll see you later."He walked toward the door of the hospital wing with a slight blush on his cheeks. Madam Pomfrey was running her fingers over my ribs feeling for breaks. **

**"OUCH THAT HURTS!"I yelled when she hit one. **

**"Will you hold still!"She said."You do have a break." **

**"Well don't touch it!It hurts!" **

**"Oh fine be difficult but if it heals wrong because you wouldn't let me properly examine you its not my fault!Just remember that."She said and walked over to her shelves of healing potions and picked one out. She poured one into a glass and brought it back to me. I could smell it before it was even in my hand. **

**"This stuff smells awful."I complained, wrinkling my nose in disgust. **

**"I am quite aware of that. You remind me of it everytime you show up with something broken and need to take some. Just drink it." **

**I plugged my nose and downed the contents of the glass as quickly as I could and held out the empty glass to her. I winced as I felt my ribs slowly shifting back into place and healing. After a few seconds it stopped. **

**"Is anything else hurting you or was that it?" **

**"No that was it. Now can I go." **

**"No you can sit here and relax for at least an hour so I can watch you and make sure you're really ok." **

**"But I..." **

**"No buts about it. Stay for a while then you can go."She said and walked back to her office. I glared at her back as she walked away and then just sat there with my arms crossed, pouting. There was no point in maing me stay when I was completely fine but hey at least the bed was comfortable. I stared out the window at the clear blue sky already bored out of my mind. Fifteen minutes later I was totally zoned out and didn't even notice when Dylan walked in. **

**"Hey"he said, his voice bringing me out of my trance. **

**"Oh hey whats up?"I answered. **

**"You missed it. Potter freaked on Black. I thought his head was gunna explode from yelling so loud. He said he would kick him off the team if it happened again. The look on his face was priceless."He laughed. **

**"Are you serious? Thats awesome. I am going to have to get revenge big time for this one." **

**"So how do you feel?"He looked concerned. **

**"I'm fine. Just a little sore and kinda bruised. I think I'll live though." **

**"Good. How much longer are you stuck here?" **

**"She said I had to stay for at least an hour 'so she can make sure I'm really ok'"I mimicked her voice and scowled. Dylan just laughed at my pouty face. **

**"Tell you what... I'll talk to her and see what I can do."He said and walked toward Madam Pomfrey's office. He knocked on the door and went in. I couldn't hear anything he was saying but I could tell by the expression on his face that he was really laying on the charm. He stopped talking and after a moment walked back out to me. **

**"Ok lets go." **

**"Are you serious?What did you say?" **

**"I just promised her I would keep an eye on you and if there was anything wrong I would bring you right back." **

**"You are amazing. I thought I was going to go crazy in here.I definately owe you one for this."I jumped off the bed and headed toward the door. **

**"I'm gunna remember you said that."He said with a grin. **

**Sirius **

**We had been practicing for about two hours and Prongs had me and Newhart practicing at the other end of the pitch so we didn't hit any of the chasers on accident. We had been aiming at each other's heads the whole time, every hit just barely missing. She hit the bludger toward me. I ducked as it just barely missed my shoulder. I hit it back toward her as hard as I could and laughed as it whizzed past her ear. **

**"Will you stop trying to hit my face!" She screamed at me. **

**"Why? It couldn't possibly look any worse!"I said back smirking. **

**She dived toward the ground after the bludger and smacked it up toward me. It skimmed over the top of my head and I glared at her. **

**"Will you two stop trying to kill eachother just this once!"James shouted at her as he chased after the golden snitch. I flew after the bludger and hit it down toward her with as much force as I possibly could. I looked up and saw that she was still saying something to Prongs and didn't even notice the bludger coming at her. I opened my mouth to warn her but it was too late. It hit her side and she fell side ways off her broom hitting the ground. **

**"Oh shit."I flew as fast as I could to the ground where the rest of the team was gathered around her. **

**"Oh my god are you ok? Pepper answer me!"James yelled. **

**"Nice job Black!"Callahan yelled and shot a glare at me. "Are you **_**trying**_** to kill her?"I opened my mouth to say something but thought better of it. Everybody was already pissed enough at me. **

_**"**_**Guys calm down. I'm fine." She gasped. **

**"Well you don't look fine. You're pale as a ghost."James said. **

**"Somebody help me up." she said. Callahan slowly pulled her to her feet. She swayed a little bit but remained standing. **

**"You ok?"He asked her and glared at me again. **

**"Yeah."She winced and gripped her side. **

**"Ok guys I think thats enough for today so somebody catch the bludgers and everybody can go get cleaned up. Heres the snitch."James said and handed the snitch to Callahan. He looked really pissed off."I'll be right back. I'm going to take Pepper to the hospital wing." **

**I stood there and watched as he pulled her slowly along beside him toward the castle. The rest of the team grabbed their brooms and made their way to the locker room, none of them talking to me at all. I spent the next few minutes flying around catching the bludgers and feeling sorry for myself. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I had never meant to actually hit her. I was just messing around and now the whole team was pissed at me for it. Maybe I was being a little bit hard on her with the pranks and everything but hey its what I do. But I still couldn't help feeling bad that she got hurt. There must be something really wrong with me. I had never once felt bad for anything that I had done to Newhart. Then I saw Prongs coming across the pitch looking angry enough to commit murder. **

**"SIRIUS GET DOWN HERE NOW!"He bellowed. **

**"Dammit here we go."I mumbled as I touched down and walked over to him. **

**"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!YOU REALLY HURT HER!YOU ARE SO LUCKY THAT I DON'T KICK YOUR SORRY ASS OF THE TEAM FOR THIS!I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS THAT YOU HAVE AGAINST PEPPER BUT YOU HAD BETTER GET OVER IT AND JUST LEAVE HER ALONE!IF YOU EVER DO ANYTHING TO HURT HER LIKE THIS AGAIN YOU 'RE GOING TO HAVE TO ANSWER TO ME!" **

**"I didn't mean to actually hit her. I didn't know she wasn't looking." **

**"I DON'T CARE!JUST CUT THE SHIT AND LEAVE HER ALONE! IF THIS HAPPENS AGAIN YOU'RE OFF THE TEAM!" He finished and stalked off. This was just great. Now what was I supposed to do. **

**Pepper **

**When Dylan and I walked through the portrait hole into the common room I was immediately attacked by Lily. She pulled me into a crushing hug. **

**"Ow take it easy with the hugging." **

**"James told me and Remus that you got hurt at practice! What happened?Are you ok?"She blurted out. **

**"Black hit me with a bludger and broke a couple ribs then I fell of my broom but I'm ok don't worry."I explained. **

**"No big deal?!You could have been killed!" **

**"Yes but I'm perfectly fine so cool it." **

**"Oh fine be that way."She stalked off and sat down on the couch grumbling to herself. **

**"Does she always get like that?"Dylan asked. I'd almost forgotten he was there. **

**"No not really. I mean she kinda freaks a little bit but she doesn't get mad like that. I better go talk to her and see whats going on so I'll talk to you later." **

**"Ok see you later cutie."Oh my gosh he just called me cute!He winked and walked back out of the common room. I could feel the blush creeping up into my cheeks as I walked over to Lily. I sat down on the couch next to her. She glanced at me for a second and abruptly looked away. **

**"Ok whats going on with you?" **

**"Don't know what you're talking about."She still didn't look at me. **

**"Why are you all pissed at me?And what the hell is with the freaking out over what happened in quidditch?"I demanded. **

**"I just think that you got hurt enough over the summer at home and you really don't need it here!"she said glowering at the wall.I sighed. **

**"Lily look. What happened today was just an accident and it was my own fault for not paying attention." **

**"Bull shit you know he hit you on purpose!"She yelled.I knew she was right but still I had to try to calm her down. **

**"No it's really my fault. I was talking to James and I wasn't paying attention." **

**"Whatever. I still hate Black though." **

**"I know so do I."I laughed.I heard somebody clear their throat behind us. Sirius was standing there looking at the floor with his hands shoved into his pockets, long dark hair hanging into his eyes. **

**"What the bloody hell do you want?"I demanded glaring at him. He glanced up at me then looked back to the floor. **

**"I just came over to apologise for today. I'm sorry for hitting you. I was just messing around and I didn't mean to actually hit you. So uh yeah sorry."He said and walked away.I stared after him dumbfounded as he plopped into a chair next to James. **

**"What was that all about?"Lily asked looking just as confused as I did. **

**"I have no idea but did he actually just apologise to me?" **

**"Yes I believe he did." **

**"It's probably just because James yelled at him. He threatened to kick him off the team and everything." **

**"Really?I never thought James would do that."She looked over at him and smiled slightly. **

**"I didn't think so either but hey lets go to lunch I'm starving!"As if to prove my point my stomach grumbled loudly. **

**"Alright lets go before you starve to death."She laughed. **


End file.
